


Goretober & Whumptober

by StarlightXNightmare



Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Original Work, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Child Death, Descriptions of Corpses, Fear of Illness, Gen, Gore, Horror Elements, Illnesses, Legends, Minor Character Death, Monsters, Off-screen Child Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-23 19:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21086669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightXNightmare/pseuds/StarlightXNightmare
Summary: A collection of October prompts spanning many fandoms and personal works. Meant to get me back in the writing groove.





	1. Goretober Day 1: Plague Doctor (Guardians of Childhood)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katherine is a kind Guardian, though she finds one particular kind of spirit that she dislikes.

Katherine had met many spirits in her time as a Guardian but there’s none she dislikes more than the plague doctors—medical doctors who succumbed to illness and shed their human skin. She hadn’t been alive for the plague but she had been alive for many other epidemics. There’s nothing more eerie than seeing a figure dressed in black peering down at a bed-ridden patient.

All plague doctors are horrifically emaciated, bones as brittle as twigs. They’re draped in black and move slowly with purpose. They don’t speak but heavy wheezing can be heard behind a beaked mask, dark glass that protects their eyes fogging up with desperate breaths. Nobody’s seen one without their mask on—legend has it that if you do, you contract a deadly, incurable disease from breathing the same air as them. It’s said their touch brings sickness or death to the weak or diseased.

Katherine found that she quite liked reading to ill children in hospitals, which means she’s had her fair share of encounters with the grim spirits. 

She’s looked up from the book she’d been reading from to see one of the spirits staring at her with a cocked head. Then they’d lean over the child and peel off a black leather glove to reveal a rotting hand, discolored flesh barely clinging to the exposed bone before stroking the child’s face. Katherine’s seen the light fade from the eyes of children, heard the last deep, gasping breath without an exhale, and smelled the decay of a plague doctor’s hand. She’s heard the flatline of the monitor. She’s felt and seen the arrival of Death, the black cloaked figure moving silently as it collected the child’s soul.

She didn’t know much else other than plague doctors leading Death to the sick. And she didn’t want to spend anymore time around one to find out more. Deep down she’s afraid that one day she’ll feel the touch of a plague doctor.


	2. Goretober Day 2: Monster Under the Bed (Hidden Horrors)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In October of 1994, a young boy had been murdered in his bed.

Perry and his mom decided that tonight was a good night to stop using the night light. He complained that using a night light made him look like a baby, despite being afraid of the dark. And here he was: shivering in bed with his eyes clenched shut and the blankets drawn up over his head.

The scraping and clawing under the bed made his eyes water in fear. 

He’s terrified that the thing under his bed would choose tonight to slither out and eat him up. Mommy said there’s no such thing as the monster under the bed but Perry knew better. That’s what took his little sister after all. The monster under the bed ate his baby sister.

The monster used to live under his sister’s crib and after she died it moved under his. He didn't know where it had come from—for all he knew it might've always lived in the house. 

A loud creak broke the silence. Perry’s eyes were wide, trembling violently. A shuffling from under his bed made him whimper in fear. Heavy breathing not coming from him covered up his own panicked pants.

The blanket is ripped out of his grasp and the boy gets to stare up at the monster. Perry wets himself.

Bumpy, scaly dark green skin, bulbous red eyes, a mouth crammed full of teeth and claws a foot long on every finger and toe. All its limbs were too long and its bones looked like they didn’t fit right in its skin. It’s so tall that it hunches to avoid smacking against the ceiling. A long, slimy tongue flicks out and slaps against its eyeball. A deep hiss fills the room.

The boy didn’t get the chance to scream.

* * *

**THE TOWN ARTIFACT  
** **October 14, 1994**

**CHILD FOUND DEAD IN BED**

Hannah Winters was awoken by the sound of a breaking window at 4 a.m. Upon investigation she found that her last child, 8-year-old Perry Winters, had been killed in the middle of the night. Nothing was stolen and there’s no sign of forced entry, however the window was broken upon the intruder leaving. All the doors were locked and every window shut with the exception of a cracked open window in the mother’s room. 

The death of Perry matches his younger sister, Heather’s, murder—a possible serial killer.

It’s recommended that parents only let their children outside with supervision. Curfew begins at sundown and ends an hour before school begins. Curfew only applies to children and young teens. The police are currently investigating the matter.

_ Click to read more _

* * *

**SAINT CRYHAL POLICE DEPARTMENT CASE FILE ON PERRY WINTERS:**

**Victim:** Perry Winters, 8, Male

**Clues:** Lacerations on arms and chest, bites on throat, shoulders, and arms, unknown burns on face, ripped out throat, and unknown substance under and around the bed and on the body. Bones are exposed in many places; it appears that whatever killed the boy had eaten its fill before fleeing. Little blood found around body despite extensive wounds.

**Suspects:** No current suspects. 

* * *

**AUTOPSY REPORT**

**Time of death:** Around 3AM

**Cause of death:** Trauma to body and shock

**Wounds: **Many claw wounds on arms and legs, several bite marks on shoulder and arms, burns on cheeks, torn open throat/chunks of flesh missing, blood drained.

**Rule:** Mysterious circumstances

** _Coroner’s note:_ ** _ Detective Ker, there’s too many anomalies to call this a natural death but there’s also too many to rule that a human had killed the boy. The bite and claw marks don’t match up with human teeth and nails—they indicate that an animal ripped the boy apart. There’s many chunks of flesh missing and there’s a distinct lack of blood in and around the body. The liquid on the boy’s face is nothing that I’ve seen before and the burns came from an unknown source. It’s best to keep the findings under wraps from the public. I suggest you contact animal control for any sightings of dangerous animals running around the town. _

_ Sincerely,  
_ _ Jay Reed _

* * *

**DETECTIVE KER’S VOICEMAIL:**

Hey, Ker, it’s Grant Castroff with Animal Control. One of Monday’s patrols got called early mornin’ after a truck driver hit a creature on a nearby road. ‘Parently the guy was speeding an’ this thing ran right in front of the truck. We’ve been unable to identify the creature with how mangled it is, but one thing’s fer certain: itsa real beast of a thing. Lotsa sharp claws and teeth. Damn thing looks like it’s been dead longer than the driver says. With your permission I’ll bring the creature to the station to be examined. Ya want the ugly thing, right?

* * *

**FROM HANNAH WINTERS, VISITATION AND FUNERAL INVITATION:**

_ The community of Cryhal is invited to the visitation of Perry Winters on October 22, 1994 at 5 p.m. at St. Katherine’s Church. Family and friends are invited to join a Celebration of Life for Perry Winters on October 23, 1994 at noon. Both will be a closed casket service. _

* * *

**THE TOWN ARTIFACT  
** **December 1, 1994**

**PERRY WINTERS CASE CLOSED**

After nearly two months after 8-year-old Perry Winters’ death, the police have finally announced that the case is being closed. A statement released by Detective Ker tells the public her feelings about the case.

“It’s a tragedy what happened to Perry. While the case is being labelled as cold, we know what happened. A starved, wild animal somehow got into the house and mauled him—probably the same animal who got to Heather a while back. No matter how safe you feel with the people around you, we remind you to keep doors and windows locked.”

However, Perry’s mother has some things to say about the case ruling. 

“Why label it as cold if you know what happened? My son was mauled; close the case. It makes me feel like they’re hiding something,” said Hannah Winters.

The police has declined to give their reasoning behind their choice.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I’m late. Do I care? Kinda.


End file.
